Alabama

Here’s the case against Alabama football getting a College Football Playoff spot

Published

1 year ago

December 5, 2024

Here’s the case against Alabama football getting a College Football Playoff spot

Alabama football’s path the College Football Playoff is out of its control.

The Crimson Tide has its ranking heading into the final bracket, sitting at No. 11 and likely in the driver’s seat for a playoff berth before the top 12 teams are officially announced Sunday

Alabama seems to be right in the mix for a CFP spot even with three losses. But should the Crimson Tide even be considered?

Alabama football CFP predictions

No matter if the Crimson Tide should be considered or not, Alabama remains a favorite to make the final 12.

In the penultimate CFP rankings before the final bracket is revealed Sunday, Alabama landed at No. 11. In this set of rankings, Alabama would be an 11-seed playing No. 6 Notre Dame for a quarterfinal date with SMU.

Alabama, a three-loss team, finished ahead of two-loss Miami and three-loss SEC teams South Carolina and Ole Miss. According to the CFP selection committee chair Warde Manuel, since none of those teams will play in a conference championship game, that order is “set.”

Before Tuesday’s CFP rankings, multiple outlets including ESPN, Sporting News and 247Sports had the Crimson Tide in the CFP as either a No. 12 or No. 11 seed facing teams like Penn State or Notre Dame.

Why Alabama football won’t make College Football Playoff

There is a chance the Crimson Tide miss the playoff entirely.

No. 8 SMU faces No. 17 Clemson Saturday for an ACC championship. If the three-loss Tigers beat the Mustangs and earn an automatic bid, Alabama could be pushed out in favor of two-loss SMU, which would have its second loss in a conference championship game.

The same could be said, albeit less likely, with the Mountain West championship game between No. 10 Boise State and No. 20 UNLV.

But even if Clemson or UNLV wins, Alabama, in the eyes of the committee, still has a fighter’s chance at a top-12 bid.

Here’s why the Crimson Tide shouldn’t.

Alabama lost to a six-win Vanderbilt team in a game it which it never held a lead. And after a road loss to Tennessee, the Crimson Tide had an abysmal performance against six-win Oklahoma, an outing considered among the worst offensive performances by an Alabama team in 20 years.

Three losses by 33 total points.

Yes, Alabama beat South Carolina head-to-head. But two of the Gamecocks’ three losses came by five total points while all three losses came by 29 total points. And South Carolina beat Oklahoma by 26.

Ole Miss beat Oklahoma by 12 and lost its three games to Kentucky, LSU and Florida by 13 combined points. The Rebels also beat Georgia and South Carolina.

The there’s two-loss Miami, with losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse by nine total points.

Strength of schedule may win out for Alabama. But when the Crimson Tide fell short, it fell short significantly, something other CFP hopefuls didn’t do.

When do CFP rankings come out?

The final CFP rankings will be released at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday after the weekend’s slate of conference championship games.

How to watch CFP bracket reveal

TV channel: ESPN
Stream: Fubo

The CFP bracket will be revealed between 11 a.m.-3 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Alabama

Breaking Down Auburn’s Path to the NCAA Tournament Ahead of Alabama Clash

Published

7 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Breaking Down Auburn’s Path to the NCAA Tournament Ahead of Alabama Clash

The Auburn Tigers are firmly on the bubble heading into the final game of the regular season, and the urgency couldn’t be higher for Steven Pearl and company.

Auburn travels to Tuscaloosa for a rematch with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, currently standing at 16-14 overall and 7-10 in the SEC. Alabama knocked off the Tigers on their home floor at Neville Arena just over three weeks ago, meaning Auburn should be seeking revenge this weekend inside Coleman Coliseum.

The Tigers have dropped seven of their last nine games, most recently falling to Ole Miss 85-79 last Saturday and defeating LSU by 14 points on Tuesday’s senior night. Auburn played like two extremely different teams in these two matchups, and it certainly needs to carry the momentum it garnered from the midweek win into Saturday.

The newly updated NCAA Tournament projections feature Auburn on the outside looking in, according to multiple outlets. The Tigers are listed as ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s second team out of the field, which is disappointing after sitting as a solid No. 7-seed just a few weeks ago.

In CBS Sports’ latest bracketology, Auburn is projected to land as the First Team Out, alongside New Mexico, Seton Hall, and Indiana. However, the Tigers actually boast a higher NET ranking than all seven of the other squads featured in CBS Sports’ Last Four In and Last Four Out.

Prior to its clash with Ole Miss last Saturday, the general consensus was that if Auburn took care of business on its home floor against the Rebels and LSU, the Tigers would put themselves in a good position to crack the tournament, assuming they lost to Alabama in the season finale.

However, obviously, Auburn was unable to get both tasks done, as Pearl’s squad, frankly, seemed uninspired in what was a near must-win game for the Tigers versus Ole Miss. Auburn looked slightly more motivated in its victory over LSU on Tuesday, but could it be too late?

Now, with Auburn sitting just two games over .500 overall and playing some of its worst basketball as of late, it feels as if its season is absolutely on the line in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

ESPN’s most recent betting odds lean toward Auburn missing the tournament, but a win over the Crimson Tide could, and would, certainly shift that line.

If the Tigers are able to emerge from Coleman Coliseum victorious, which would be a top-20 Quad-1 win on the road, they will most likely hear their name called on Selection Sunday.

But on the flip side, if Auburn falls to its arch rival to close the regular season, it would likely need to win three games or more in the SEC Tournament next week to feel somewhat hopeful about its postseason fate.

Nonetheless, as mentioned previously, there’s no excuse why urgency shouldn’t be at an all-time high on Saturday. With their NCAA Tournament hopes virtually on the line and a chance for revenge on their most-hated rival, the Tigers should come out desperate and hungry from the tip.

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Alabama

Southern 88-85 Alabama A&M (Mar 5, 2026) Game Recap – ESPN

Published

19 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Southern 88-85 Alabama A&M (Mar 5, 2026) Game Recap – ESPN

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — — Terrance Dixon Jr.’s 19 points helped Southern defeat Alabama A&M 88-85 on Thursday.

Dixon shot 7 of 10 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line for the Jaguars (15-16, 11-7 Southwestern Athletic Conference). Michael Jacobs scored 15 points while going 4 of 11 and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line, and added five rebounds. AJ Barnes shot 3 for 7 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line to finish with 14 points, while adding six rebounds.

Koron Davis finished with 23 points for the Bulldogs (17-14, 10-8). James Graham added 19 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals for Alabama A&M. Kintavious Dozier also had 12 points.

The Jaguars led by 10 points with 59 seconds to go, before the Bulldogs executed a three-point play from Bilal Abdur-Rahim then got a 3-pointer from Dozier in the span of nine seconds, cutting the deficit to four. A free throw battle closed out the result for the Jaguars.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Alabama

Top-30 overall recruit Jaxon Richardson commits to Alabama

Published

1 day ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Top-30 overall recruit Jaxon Richardson commits to Alabama

Jaxon Richardson, the No. 27 overall recruit in the 2026 class per the Rivals Industry Ranking, has committed to Alabama.

The 6-foot-6 four-star small forward out of Southeastern Prep (FL) ultimately chose the Crimson Tide over USC, Creighton, and Ole Miss. He also received offers from Miami, Cincinnati, Michigan, Florida, Villanova, and others.

Richardson, a McDonald’s All-American, becomes the Crimson Tide’s third commitment of the 2026 cycle. He joins four-star shooting guard Qayden Samuels (No. 28 NATL) and four-star small forward Tarris Bouie (No. 54 NATL).

He’s the son of NBA veteran and two-time NBA Dunk Contest champion Jason Richardson. His older brother, Jase, played for Michigan State last season before being selected 25th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.

More on Richardson

Rivals’ National Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw says Richardson is one of the most explosive players in the 2026 class:

Jaxon Richardson is able to combine fluid athleticism with explosive burst in a way no other player in this class can. He uses his athleticism to his advantage on the floor. He fills the outside channels with a purpose in transition, he is aggressive in the passing lanes, and he plays as a vertical floor spacer in the dunker spots and lob plays. Last summer, playing with the Florida Rebels on Nike’s EYBL Circuit, the 6-foot-6 wing averaged 12.8 points on 54.0 percent shooting and 10.5 attempts per game. Last high school season, he averaged 12.9 points on 61.0 percent shooting on 8.9 attempts per game. He is a highly efficient player, as 84.4 percent of his makes last high school season were at the rim.

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